Sea of Vengeance
by GuardianSoulBlade
Summary: Summary: It started with a tattered hat, it led to a name. Now Luffy will stop at nothing to find the man who murdered Sabo, and he might cross lines he had always avoided.
1. Tattered Memory

**Sea of Vengeance**

_**Summary: **__It started with a tattered hat, it led to a name. Now Luffy will stop at nothing to find the man who murdered Sabo, and he might cross lines he had always avoided._

**Tattered Memory **

Monkey D. Luffy strolled about Sabaody Archipelago; it had been five years since he had become a Pirate King. And now he had finally conquered he Supernovas proving that he had earned the title and no one else when would be able to take it from him.

The World Government was so terrified when it happened they automatically increased his bounty to over two billion Berries. The rest of the Strawhat had their bounties over a million which was unprecedented but no one could touch them and they were considered to be the most powerful pirate crew and the entire world.

Since Nami had completed her map of the world there was no place they couldn't go whether it was above the sea or below it. Having discovered the All Blue Sanji had also become a chef that could cook food anywhere making it impossible for them to starve. Chopper was world renowned for his skill as a doctor so if there was no way they could get sick. Zoro was the world's greatest swordsman and none could rival him. Franky's many modifications to the _Thousand Sunny _had made it unsinkable. Brook had become so famous as a musician that his fans would always aid the Strawhats in their escapes. Robin had discovered the lost century and had published a book about it, causing revolts and civil disorder everywhere. Ussop as the King of Snipers could sink the ships from far away, making long chases of the _Thousand Sunny_ nearly impossible.

Luffy could walk everywhere without fear, even if he was attacked, he could either take them out with his Gum Gum Pistol or use Haki, he preferred Haki as he didn't really want too much attention, although it was impossible for him to go anywhere unrecognized as the King of the Pirates.

He was headed toward where all the food was, as always thinking with his stomach rather than his brain, after all these years; he still didn't need much to be happy. He had obtained the One Piece, but he had hidden it away as he knew it would be stupid to go and flaunt it everywhere, but he had shown all the pirates who dared to challenge him that he had obtained it.

Humming "Bink's Sake", he kept his mind on his goal but felt amused at the shocked glances the citizens gave him. He told himself they shouldn't be surprised to see him, Sabaody was a place he liked to visit, despite some of the things that had taken place there.

He had almost passed the clothing stall by when he spotted it, a tattered top hat with a distinctive pair of goggles on it.

"Are you selling that?" he asked. The shopkeeper turned and his eyes widened.

"Yes, Strawhat Luffy, it is," he gulped. "You can have it if you want, for free."

"Here," Luffy laughed, tossing him some gold coins, "I'll take it, and don't shake so much, you'll fall over, it's not like I'm going to take your money."

"Oh, thank you."

"Where did you get this?"

"I fished it out of the water years and years ago, in Goa Kingdom, there was something different, special about it."

"Yes, it is special," Luffy said to himself. He walked off, deep in thought.

He heard a great commotion as people began moving aside, though not in his direction.

"Bow down before the Celestial Dragon, Saint Jalmack!" someone shouted. Luffy looked up and saw the ugly man sauntering around haughtily, he secretly enjoyed putting them in their place, they were horrible people who walked all over the common citizens and owned both people and other species like they were animals, in his youth he had punched one in the face, and throughout his lifetime it wasn't the last.

"You g-g-get out of my way!" Jalmack shouted loudly.

How annoying, Luffy let it show that he was irritated. "Since I was walking here first, you should let _me_ pass."

"I will do no such thing, pirate scum!" Jalmack aimed his rifle and fired. Luffy avoided the bullets easily, not even using Haki he then used it to force the World Noble to pass out. He wasn't in the mood to punch him in the face. He turned and continued walking away, making his way toward his ship.

One of his guards turned and looked at the Celestial Dragon, with an absolutely terrified expression on his face.

"That was the King of the Pirates, Strawhat Luffy! It's a relief he didn't kill us."

Jalmack was overjoyed, if he could kill the legendary King of the Pirates, he would seal his reputation forever.

"Where is he? Where's Strawhat Luffy?"

"He's long gone, I don't think we can find him," the guard told him.

"Spread out and find him! I want to kill him, he insulted me, no lowly pirate can ever insult me, not even their so-called King!"

The guards searched everywhere but he was nowhere to be found.

Jalmack decided to put his plans to capture Luffy on hold.

"Set sail for Goa Kingdom, there is someone I have to visit." His men immediately prepared to leave.

Luffy continued walking until he noticed a strange small old man; he let loose his trademark grin.

"Hello old man Dogra, you're very far away from Windmill Village," he laughed.

"As I live and breathe, Monkey D. Luffy, it's good to see you again," Dogra's face did not change from his irritable expression.

"That was Sabo's hat, wasn't it?" Dogra looked at the tattered top hat.

"Yes," so many memories, many of them happy ones, Luffy missed Sabo, he had always wished that his brother could have seen him fulfill his dream, but that would never happen. He thought about him often and it was because of him that Luffy kept his carefree attitude.

"You saw when Sabo died, didn't you?"

"Yes, I did, it was heartbreaking," Dogra's face fell. "But there was nothing anyone could have done to save him."

"Do you remember who the Celestial Dragon was?" Luffy demanded.

"I believe they called him Saint Jalmack."

Luffy's face became very still. "Thank you, old man Dogra. Now I know what I'm going to do."

"What are you going to do?" he asked.

"I'm going to kick that bastard's ass!" Luffy snarled.

Luffy began to scour Sabaody Archipelago for Jalmack, only to spot his ship as a tiny speck in the distance. But he did remember where he was going. Goa Kingdom, not too far away from Foosha Village where he had grown up. It would give him a chance to visit all the familiar faces.

"Damn it!" Luffy hissed. "If I were younger, I would have gone after him screaming all the way, but I'm smarter now. I'm going to plan something he won't forget! But first, I must have meat!"

He found a nearby restaurant and bought as much meat as he could stuff his flexible face with, still, it didn't help the boiling anger that was stewing inside him like one of Sanji's excellent meals, he couldn't stop thinking about how he had let Jalmack get away.

He had made it a rule that anyone who hurt his friends or family would pay. But it had always weighed on his mind that he had never been able to find out who had murdered Sabo. Now he knew who it was, and they were going to pay dearly.

Luffy stuffed the last piece of meat in his mouth, swallowed and tossed some coins onto the table. He walked out, ignoring the stares and made his way to Grove 42 where the _Sunny_ was moored.

"Franky, get the _Sunny_ coated, we're going to leave," Luffy ordered.

"But why coating?" Franky inquired, curious.

"I don't want to be seen."

The others noted Luffy was uncharacteristically serious. That wasn't normal. Robin noticed it right away, their Captain wasn't smiling. No matter what happened or how dire the situation, Luffy always smiled. But something was on his mind, and he wasn't sharing it with them.

Franky coated the ship as quickly as he could. The others helped him, following Nami's instructions. Within hours, they were ready to depart, as the _Thousand Sunny_ submerged beneath the beautiful ocean.

"Where do you want to go?" Nami asked.

"Dawn Island, specifically, the capital city of Goa," Luffy looked at him.

"That's your home island isn't it?" Nami asked.

"Yes it is," Luffy fell silent and didn't say anything more.

Brook noticed Luffy's foul mood and he knew that it wasn't anything that they had done, but something that his friend wasn't telling him. He decided that the best course of action he could do was to play soothing music that would make his friend feel better.

"Nami dear, lunch is ready!" Sanji called. The others came running, Nami followed them, but not before she noticed that Luffy hadn't moved from where he'd been standing near the bow of the ship. She also noticed that he wasn't even perched on his favorite seat, atop the figurehead of the _Thousand Sunny_.

He had done something she had always considered to be unthinkable; he was _ignoring Sanji's call for lunch_. Luffy never missed lunch, maybe he hadn't heard Sanji.

"Luffy, Sanji made lunch," Nami called. He turned and regarded her.

"Tell everyone they can eat without me, I'm not hungry."

Something was very wrong, Luffy and "not hungry" never happened, ever.

Nami made her way over to the others. "Luffy said he's not hungry and we should eat without him."

Chopper freaked out , "Oh God, please don't end the world, Luffy will eat meat soon!"

"He did look very upset, I wonder what it was," Franky wondered aloud.

"I'm telling you, it has to be bad meat!" Chopper proclaimed, "It's the only thing that could possibly make him upset, I'll ask him if he wants me to examine him."

"No, Chopper, the look on his face was way more serious than him eating bad meat!" Usopp corrected him.

"He better not be mad because I fixed him something he didn't want," Sanji grumbled.

"It has nothing to do with your cooking, Sanji," Brook countered. "It's something else entirely."

"If you're all so worried about him, why don't you ask him?" Zoro glared at all of them.

Everyone except Robin vigorously shook their heads in refusal. They all knew how he was when he lost his temper and they did not want him to bite their heads off, some of them feared it in the literal sense too.

They ate in their usual, rowdy, boisterous fashion, laughing and drinking grog. After they were finished they returned to their duties, all of them avoiding Luffy intentionally, Robin didn't really avoid Luffy, but she gave him the space she knew he wanted.

Nami had finished all her calculations for the navigation of the ship, and made her way into the Captain's quarters where she knew Luffy would be since he was not in the boy's sleeping quarters.

Nami found him, sitting at a desk, a small light at his side, staring at a tattered top hat, it had a pair of distinctive goggles wrapped around it, and she had never seen it before.

She looked at him curiously as she moved to place her hand on his shoulder.

"What is that?" Nami asked.

"It's a hat, it's very important to me," Luffy replied.

"More important than your Strawhat?"

"No, but it's still important."

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Nami asked, concerned for him. He wasn't acting like his usual self.

Luffy actually managed a smile. "Please, don't worry about me. I'm fine."

Nami knew Luffy was lying, and he was a horrible liar. Nami put her hand on his shoulder.

"You've never been good at lying Luffy, won't you tell me what's bothering you?"

"I will sometime, but not yet," he turned away from her, still staring at Sabo's hat.

Nami was about to leave when she felt a hand being placed over hers. She looked down at Luffy as he gave her another smile as he held her hand. Nami had to wonder what was going through his head; this wasn't like him at all.

She walked back to her sleeping quarters, utterly confused with what was going on. She his would learn what was on his mind and why they were going to Goa Kingdom.


	2. Many Changes

**Many Changes**

_**Author's Note: **__I will NOT use the term "Nakama" at all in this fic, yes, I know what it means, but it's used a little too much by the fandom, I prefer the term True Companions or friends anyway. The fans have too much regard for the word in my opinion, especially when the Japanese treat it like a normal word. It's used so much it kind of lost its meaning it's like using it too make your fanfic seem deep, or something. Oh, the ending of this chapter is not supposed to be ironic._

Knowing that Saint Jalmack was headed for the capital city of Goa, Luffy decided to instead, stop at Windmill City, formerly Windmill Village. Having become King of the Pirates, admirerers and enemies alike, had flocked to Windmill Village, hoping to see him should he return home, and in the Marines case, capture him. The village had expanded and grown, some of the people had tried to turn Luffy's childhood hangouts into tourist attractions.

The old forts he and Ace had built had nearly been torn apart by tourists who had wanted "a piece of the King's childhood". Curly Dadan had driven them all off, screaming at them that Luffy's memories wouldn't be tainted by money grubbing profiteers.

They all knew to stay far, far away from the Mountain Bandits after that.

The city was bustling and people were busy milling about. Makino was working in her bar; it was always filled with people, eager to hear her stories about Luffy as a child. They would always pester her about where Luffy would sit when he was in the bar.

"I'll leave it to you to guys to guess where he sits," Makino smiled and left people to enjoy their drinks.

Of course, Party's Bar was always full of people toasting the renowned Pirate king. There were wild rumors that one day Luffy would return with treasure and perhaps, the legendary One Piece itself.

But Makino knew him well; Luffy wasn't particularly interested in treasure. If he would return with anything he wanted, he would probably return with loads and loads of meat and food.

Still, her young friend's fame and brought her prosperity because Party's Bar was his reputed hangout.

The Mayor was always busy, trying to keep rabble rousing pirates from causing too much trouble, but everything was very lively. Luffy hadn't returned to his hometown in years but his reputation brought all sorts of visitors to the city.

It's not that he disliked Luffy, he had always liked him, but Luffy being a pirate had always bothered him, but then again, Red Haired Shanks had saved his life, he supposed the boy couldn't help but look up to the man after that.

But people didn't care about that, they were always asking him to tell stories about Luffy's childhood, he didn't get why people thought it was so great either, he had just been a relatively normal kid, it wasn't that big a deal.

Still the Mayor had to wonder how Luffy was, and if he had found the adventure he had wanted, though he would never say it out loud.

He went back to his work, after all, he had to deal with everything and he couldn't just stand around doing nothing.

* * *

The Marine Admirals had all convened, nervously glancing at one another. They had received word that Luffy was on the move again. They didn't like it at all, wherever Luffy went an uproar followed.

"The New Era of Piracy is nearly over, we've won! Once the Strawhats are apprehended everyone will understand that no one can escape our justice. All we need to do is send an army of Pacifistas to take care of them."

"Even if I sent ten thousand Pacifistas, it wouldn't be nearly enough; all you young idiots don't understand a thing about Strawhat."

"Sentomaru, are you serious?" someone spoke up.

"Yes, the Strawhats would wipe them out without breaking a sweat; no we'll send someone who knows how to deal with Strawhat Luffy. Won't you come in, Fleet Admiral?"

A commanding figure entered the room, dressed in the uniform of a Fleet Admiral. Glasses adorned his handsome face and his pink hair. His eyes were set with determination and he was a very imposing figure.

"Fleet Admiral Coby! You will be the one to track down Strawhat Luffy!"

"Of course, I'll leave right away. Where is he headed?" Coby inquired.

"Reports have said they've seen the _Thousand Sunny_ surface, heading in the direction of the East Blue."

"I'll be going now," Coby turned and walked away.

"Mind if I join you?" Sentomaru asked him.

"Sure," Coby smiled.

They walked out and the doors shut.

"Everyone's gotten so lazy, it makes me miss scary people like Akainu, at least he wasn't one to stand around and do nothing."

"He is the one who tried to kill you, you know," Sentomaru smiled a little.

"The Marines keep saying that the great Pirate Era is nearly over, but they're just relying on your Pacifistas too much. Put them in a real fight and they'll all desert."

"I miss the old days, being a Marine actually meant something, now the pirates are more sympathetic than ever, the Great Pirate Era is over, please! With people like them out there, it's not going to be over for a long, long time." Coby took a deep breath. "People flock to the sea, lured by their idealism, and yet they rarely kill anyone, but they have the highest bounties in the history of the world."

"Heh, the way you talk, it seems you would have joined them."

"No, this was my dream, and it's thanks to Luffy's encouragement that I joined the Marines, besides, he doesn't seem bothered by it at all."

"I should let you go."

Sentomaru left and once he was out of earshot, Coby let loose a victorious shout of "Yes!" He had waited so long for those idiotic higher ups to send him after Luffy. He had always told him that since he knew Luffy very well, he would be able to find him and capture him, but they stubbornly refused to listen to him.

He walked out of the building and made his way towards his ship. He had been preparing to set out to find Luffy for some time and had highly trained Marines. He wouldn't take any Pacifistas, they would be completely useless against the Strawhat Crew. He'd take as many men as possible and do his best to apprehend them. He had a feeling this encounter would be different from previous ones.

He exited the building and made his way towards his ship,the_ Cruel Executioner_ and boarded it. He found his best friend waiting for him. "We're ready to leave, Fleet Admiral."

Vice Admiral Helmeppo looked at him, "I'm looking forward to this, a rematch against Roronoa Zoro."

'We won't get to the East Blue for awhile, we better practice our skills for awhile," Coby suggested.

The crew gathered around, in awe of the two. They watched as they began to fight.

"We have to get stronger, we have to beat them," Coby told himself. "We _will_ catch Luffy and the others."

They continued to fight, this was going to a long and hard struggle, and he had to wonder who would win.

* * *

Thirty year old Monkey D. Luffy was still behaving strangely; he was still quiet and wasn't eating. Sanji had finally convinced him to eat a little, but his appetite was nowhere near what it usually was.

He made his way into Usopp's room and he looked up.

"Luffy, do you need something?"

"Sure, anything, what do you want me to make?"

"A sail and place a Skull and Crossbones, but in the middle make a large blue S and make it very nice."

"Okay," Usopp began working right away, creating what Luffy had described.

He went and found Franky. "Hey Strawhat, what do you need?"

"Build a coffin, one that could hold someone about this big," he gestured, guessing how big Sabo had been when he was alive.

"Okay, I'll do it," Franky too set about his new task, utterly confused by both Luffy's serious nature and the request.

They were close to the port of Goa Kingdom and Luffy glanced over at Nami. "Sail around the island once, I have to look for something at the bottom of the ocean."

"All right," Nami followed his instructions. She and the others noted how intently he searched the ocean floor with his eyes.

"I wonder what he's looking for," Chopper frowned.

Luffy didn't say another word but kept his eyes ahead, suddenly, he grinned.

"Hey, Surume!" he waved to the enormous Kraken. The creature smiled and swam over to Sea

"Pull us to Windmill City!" Luffy's voice was once again filled with the familiar, cheerful enthusiasm that it usually had. Surume got under the ship and began rapidly pulling it towards the harbor.

"Luffy, look!" Usopp shouted. "it's a Sea King!"

"The Lord of the Coast, our local sea monster, I know him very well. He's the one who took Shank's arm when he saved my life."

"Oh," Chopper looked worried, "Is he going to eat us?" He was trying hard not to panic. He was much better and keeping calm, but not that much.

Zoro prepared to strike it down but Luffy stopped him. He looked at the enormous monster.

"Hey there! Remember me?" Luffy asked, giving his trademark grin.

Recognition passed over the Sea King's face. His eyes widened in utter terror.

"Get him Surume!" Luffy ordered, laughing. The Kraken immediately charged after he had left the _Sunny_ and reached out and slapped the Sea King senseless as it panicked and tried to swim away.

"That was so funny!" Luffy roared, holding his sides and crying tears of joy.

Ussop and Chopper were laughing too. They were relieved to see that Luffy was doing better. Robin smiled, so he wasn't going to stay in his serious mood forever, that was good. They had all been worried about him.

Nami breathed a sigh of relief; maybe he would tell her what was bothering him very soon. She had no such luck as that didn't happen.

The Strawhats moored the _Thousand Sunny_, disembarking quietly, they decided to head into the city.

"I'm so confused!" Luffy exclaimed. "I don't know where anything is anymore!" Everyone had split up to look around, he'd been in search of Party's Bar, but everything was so different from when he'd lived there, even his previous visits and they had been few, it had changed a lot and he couldn't find his way around.

"Oh well, I'll find my way there eventually," he went walking off.

Zoro had been in search of a place where he could buy swords. He had received directions from a local, but he couldn't remember if it was on the right or the left side of a street. He spotted Party's Bar and decided to go in, he really wanted a drink.

He walked in and took a seat at the stool at the front of the bar, he felt he should take the one in the middle, and he called Makino over to him.

"Can I get you something?" Makino asked, she knew the man's face, but couldn't be sure if it was really him. Plenty of imposters had shown up at the bar, claiming to be the Strawhat crew, mainly to try to get free drinks, she never fell for those, since she knew Luffy, she kenw what sort of people he would pick as his friends.

"Your best sake," Zoro said; he tossed her some coins.

"Keep it, it's on the house," Makino gave him a knowing smile. Yes, that had to be the real one. Luffy would only pick good, honest people to be members of his crew, and when he asked how to find a sword smith, she knew it was really Zoro, as his lack of direction was now notorious.

Sanji wandered in and took a seat to Zoro's left. He also asked for sake and at the sight of Makino he exclaimed, "You're an angel! How can I help you?"

Makino smiled politely and brought him his drink. Chopper came in and hopped up on Zoro's shoulder.

"What a cute pet!" Chopper merely smiled, and then burst into his happy dance, before slipping and falling off Zoro's shoulder.

'Are you all right?"

"Yes, I'm fine!" Chopper was still giddy at being called cute. Compliments never ceased to make him happy.

Robin came in and sat beside Zoro, also asking for a drink. Makino wondered how someone so serious put up with Luffy's silliness.

Franky came in and Makino did a double-take, but treated him like everyone else.

Brook walked in, "Yohohohoho! It's nice to see you all here! But were is Luffy?"

"He's not here yet," Franky told him. "There's a piano over there if you want to play."

Brook walked over to the piano and began to play. The beautiful music filled the air as the patrons began to sing "Bink's Sake", as it was a song that many people knew._  
_

Suddenly, Luffy burst through the door, belting out the lyrics at the top of his lungs, this being one of his favorite songs.

As the song played people began to clap and sing along. When it was over, Luffy took his favorite seat at the end of the bar, next to Nami.

"I wonder where Pirate King Luffy would sit," Someone spoke up loudly, "We've all asked Makino where he sits but she won't tell us."

"But this is my favorite seat," he said, drinking sake, stretching his arm high above his head and pouring it into his mouth.

"Strawhat Luffy!" people turned and stared.

"What?"" he asked, what'd they want?

There was a collective gasp as everyone stared at the Strawhat crew.

"if you sat there, then who sat next to you?"

"Oh, Red-Haired Shanks," Luffy said, between stuffing his face with meat. The others were relieved to see he was eating normally, for him anyway.

"He sat next to Red-Haired Shanks! It's really them!" they exclaimed.

"Here's to our Luffy!" They roared, "Cheers!" The patrons toasted him and the Strawhats, people began bombarding them with endless questions and badgered Usopp to tell stories of their adventures on the sea.

"Hello Luffy," Makino gave him a smile.

"Hey Makino, it's nice to see you, you look great! I heard you had a kid," Luffy grinned. The young child approached him shyly. He'd never met someone so famous before.

"Hi!" Luffy smiled.

"Oh, Makino, I have something for you," Luffy removed something from beneath his red coat, which was the same as his predecessor, Gol D. Roger. He handed Makino a large, and it was very large bag of gold, filled to the brim with coins.

Makino began to cry, all those coins, added up to more than anything she could have ever earned in her bar, treasure worth millions of Berries.

"But what for Luffy?" she asked, sobbing tears of joy and awe.

"My treasure tab, for all the food you gave me," Luffy laughed.

"But you were seven years old when you said that," Makino was shocked he had remembered something she had thought was silly.

'but I always keep my promises, keep it, it's yours, and if it will make you feel better, I'll buy everyone here a drink!"

The people enthusiastically agreed and they once again began to drink their sake.

Nami couldn't help but think this was something Luffy had planned, as a calm before the storm, so she decided to join in the drinking, it was nice to see him happy, and she knew that he was going to do something serious afterward. It had become a tradition after he became King of the Pirates that before they went off to battle, they would have a big party, with Sanji's cooking and drinks. She gave a small sigh, this was just the beginning of something very big and she hoped that they would all come out of it in one piece.


	3. Shocking a Kingdom

**Shocking a Kingdom**

The Thousand Sunny arrived in Goa Kingdom's port, the Marines were there of course, threatening to attack them, but Luffy knew they were too afraid of the entire crew to do that. He contacted them via Transponder Snail, politely saying that if they let him in he wouldn't cause trouble. They were obligated to let him in, they all remembered Enies Lobby, how he had politely asked to be let in, and when they had refused he had charged in, resulting in an unprecedented prison break, only topped by what he'd done at Impel Down and Marineford.

They anchored in Goa's harbor without any problems.

Luffy had disembarked with the rest of his crew and they began to explore the city. Sanji went off to find supplies, Zoro got lost as usual. Franky began searching for what he needed to maintain the _Sunny_, Nico Robin headed to a bookstore and Brook found himself searching for a music shop to replace his violin strings. Usspop was busy looking for local plants that he might use in his arsenal of ammunition for sniping.

The Strawhats made their way inadvertently to the town square. Robin noticed that there were some corpses of local pirates hanging in gibbets as a warning to others who might want to take to the sea. Not that it actually deterred anyone, on the contrary, it just made the World Government look even more despicable.

Robin glanced over and saw that the other crew members were standing beside her.

Luffy spotted something; a familiar blew waistcoat and pants. He'd finally found him.

"Franky, do you have the coffin I had you make?" Luffy asked.

"But why do we need it?" Franky had been puzzled at why Luffy had asked him to build it for him.

"Because I found what I'm looking for," Luffy began walking towards one of the gibbets.

Nami noticed the gibbet wasn't a normal one, but the small figure of what could have been a child was wrapped in chains. It was so disgusting that they would do this to a child. It was understandable for the Marines to do this to someone like her who was an adult, but this went too far.

"What happened to him?" she asked.

"I have heard a local story that a young boy setting out to sea accidentally had his ship cross into the path of a Celestial Dragon and that the ship was blown to pieces, they found the body washed ashore and had it hung in chains," Robin explained.

"Zoro," Luffy looked at his First Mate, "When we walk over there, cut the corpse down." He pointed at the child's chained dead body. The crowd gasped in shock and the Marines had gathered in front of them, trying to stop him. That had been their most successful deterrent; people didn't dare go out to sea as a pirate after seeing what they were willing to do to mere children who raised a pirate flag.

"Ussop, do you have that sail I asked you to make?"

"Yes, Luffy," he replied. So that's what it was for.

The Strawhats began walking, unflinching, towards the vast line of Marines, who were all prepared to fire on them. The walk was filled with confidence and determination. They had walked like this time and again, and it never failed to fill the bystanders with awe.

He stopped in front of the Marine Captain, "Either you let me pass, or I'll cause trouble, and that's not a threat, it's a promise."

"I can't do that," the Captain replied. "I won't let you take this body. Someone has to stand up to you."

"I admire that, but I don't have time to play games," Luffy let loose a burst of Haki and all the Marines toppled to the ground unconscious.

They continued walking, Luffy stopped in front of the figure.

"I came to get you, Sabo!" He smiled.

None of the crew had ever heard the name before. They wondered who he was. Zoro cut down the body without hesitation. Luffy caught it in his arms.

Some journalists were trying to take pictures of Luffy holding the exposed corpse, when Sanji suddenly kicked their cameras away.

"You bastards aren't going to let people see his dead friend like this! Keep your cameras off until I say so!"

Ussop took out the large cloth he had made with the symbol of the Jolly Roger, but instead of a skull there was a distinctive blue S on it; he wrapped the small figure in it, covering Sabo like a shroud.

Franky opened the small coffin and he and Chopper carefully placed the body in it. The crowd began to weep. They'd never seen anything like this before. The fact that the others didn't know who it was, but showed such respect for a stranger was touching.

Franky and Chopper began to carry the coffin as the others began walking beside it. Brook began to play Bink's Sake in a slow melodic way, as a funeral dirge for the fallen pirate.

The press started taking pictures, Sanji didn't look worried, at least he wouldn't be seeing a dead corpse in the newspaper.

The reporters began shouting. "Luffy, who is he?"

"His name is Sabo, he was a pirate! And he was my brother! He was killed by the World Government and now I've come to take him home where he can rest in peace."

Everyone was shocked; the Strawhats understood why he'd done everything. Nami wondered why he had never spoken about Sabo before, but reflecting back on Ace's death, she understood why he had felt so weak. He had not lost one brother but two.

They made their way aboard the _Sunny_, putting the casket in a safe place.

Nami waited for orders from her Captain.

"Take us to Windmill City," Luffy told her.

It only took them a few hours to arrive at the city, but Luffy didn't disembark. He stayed on the ship.

It was late at night and Luffy was in the Captain's quarters, once again staring at Sabo's hat.

"Did that hat belong to Sabo?" Nami asked.

"Yes," he replied.

"What are you going to do now, Luffy?" Zoro asked. "You came back here for more than a funeral." They all knew him well enough that he had returned home for another reason.

"I intend to pillage and burn down High Town, in three days," Luffy looked at his friends. They knew that he was completely serious. They were all very stunned, Luffy wasn't a typical pirate, he didn't usually loot or pillage towns, they were usually embroiled in freeing towns and entire countries from tyrannical pirates or Marines, so for him to actually want to pillage a town surprised them all.

"They're all insane in High Town, talking and laughing while people died in the horrible fire in Grey Terminal. They almost killed me, if not for Dadan and Sabo, Ace and I would be dead. I haven't forgotten about that, and since Saint Jalmack is going to be here in three days, it will be even better!"

"What did he do?" Chopper asked. None of them liked Celestial Dragons, but Luffy had uttered the name with such venom that they knew there was something personal about it.

"He's the one who killed Sabo! They live up there in their fancy houses, unafraid because they think their status makes them special enough that nothing bad can happen to them. I'll show them something bad, I'll take everything from them. They'll finally get what they deserve!"

"I don't normally believe in fighting for vengeance, but this is an exception," Zoro understood his Captain's feelings, and to see what they'd done to the corpse was wrong, and Luffy held Sabo in high regard and that was enough for him, he had also saved Luffy's life from what he had said.

"Just tell us what to do," Sanji added. They were willing to follow him anywhere and into any situation. That wasn't going to change.

"We will do whatever we need to," Chopper added. He wanted to help too; these people had walked over the common masses for too long. They were all sick of it.

"Nami, stop the ship here, it's time we buried Sabo," he made his way out onto the deck. He unwrapped the body and placed inside it, a metal bo staff, and Luffy placed a book and a pen next to the body. Chopper and Zoro helped him weigh down the small body with cannonballs.

"It's time you got to rest Sabo, I hope you will watch over me, just like you always do." He helped his friends lower Sabo into the sea. Brook had started playing again, and they were silent for a long while. They watched the body sink and disappear into the sea.

He showed them where he wanted to anchor the _Sunny_ so they could go ashore. They followed him through the woods to a high place where you could see the sea.

"Let's sit down and have a drink in memory of Sabo!" Luffy smiled broadly. He was starting to act like his old self. He poured some sake into small cups and handed them to the others.

"it was here on this spot that Ace, Sabo and I all swore our bond as brothers, so we'll drink to him. We all promised to set out to sea and become famous pirates."

They drank the sake, enjoying the taste and each other's company, Sanji and the others had brought blankets so they could all sleep under the stars.

"Luffy, why didn't you ever tell us about Sabo?" Nami asked.

"Because I never felt the need to," he replied, "But now it's different, I finally found out who killed him." Luffy gritted his teeth.

"What was he like?"

"Sabo had a good heart, he cared about us, and when we became brothers he did his best to protect us from his father, who forced him to return to High Town to live as a World Noble."

Nami was shocked, along with the others, they had never heard of a Noble who wanted to leave their rich life.

"He tried to set out to sea, but accidentally got in the way of the visiting Celestial Dragon and he died when his ship exploded after being shot twice."

"Sabo was the strongest person I ever knew, he—he was willing to give up his dream so that they wouldn't kill me and Ace, but even when they dragged him home he still tried to leave. We thought he would be happy there but we didn't know he wasn't happy. We both took it very hard when he died."

Luffy sighed.

The others were surprised; he had always encouraged them to chase their dreams. It must have been hard for Sabo to give his up, they wondered what his dream could have been, Ace and Luffy and even all of them had big dreams that they had all accomplished together. Nami's curiosity was piqued, what sort of dream did Sabo have? She noticed the books and the pen Sabo had been buried with, perhaps he had wanted to be a writer of some sort.

"Ace wanted to kill Jalmack, but he never got the chance, but I will kill him, and avenge Sabo, and no one is going to stop me!"

Zoro knew this wasn't like Luffy, but it didn't bother him. He had killed people before and this in his mind was completely justified.

Robin understood Luffy's desire for vengeance, she would support him but this seemed to be extreme even for him. He wasn't the type who wanted to kill others.

Usopp was worried, but didn't want to say anything. Luffy being serious like this terrified him more than anything the Navy could send their way.

Sanji knew that Luffy wasn't joking around as well and decided to, like Usopp, shut his mouth and not protest his Captain's decision.

Brook knew death wasn't something to take lightly, having died once himself, but there was no way he could talk Luffy out of what he was planning.

Chopper was worried about Luffy too; this was so unlike him, if he hadn't known that this was his best friend, he would have been utterly terrified of him.

Nami was unsure f how she felt about what was happening, but she feared for Luffy the most, because his desire for vengeance was overpowering other aspects of his personality and she was desperately hoping that he wouldn't do something he'd regret later, but all she could do, like the others was support her Captain in any way possible. She understood the desire to kill, she had wanted to kill Arlong, but Luffy had beaten him into oblivion, destroying his dreams and ambitions, and for some that was worse than death.

Still, she had to wonder how he was going to pillage High Town; the Marines were assembling their men near the island. She had even heard that Fleet Admiral Coby and Vice Admiral Helmeppo were there as well, she wondered if they were actually going to stop him this time. It was going to be quite a fight, but they would be ready for them. They would invade High Town and she was looking forward to it, not only because of the treasure, but this would be a test of her skills as thief and for nine people to go up against thousands of Marines it seemed insane, but she knew they'd have no trouble against the ones stationed here.

They had three days until they raised Hell, and no one would be able to change Luffy's mind.

_**Author's Note: **There won't be any real updating for awhile, I haven't written chapter four yet, and I want to finish the Fishman Island arc so I can see how the crew's new powers work (I will not read scanlations,I'm watching Funimation's streams of the show). But I will definitely be working on this. _


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